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From the least expensive to the most expensive, here’s a list of how much you need to earn to live in these 14 different Essex towns and cities:

14 – Clacton-on-Sea

(Image: By Pkuczynski)

Clacton-on-Sea is the cheapest place that we found on our list, with an average hourly wage of just £12.86 needed to buy a property by the sea. When that’s totalled up, it works out that it’ll cost an average £482.25 (per week) or £25,077 (per annum) to buy a house in Clacton. There are cheaper options though, with the seaside town known to home a large amount of caravan parks.

13 – Colchester

Colchester may be home to one of the county’s highest placed football teams, but you certainly don’t need a footballer’s bank account to live there. On average, you’d need to earn £14.16 (per hour), £531 (per week) or £27,612 (per annum) to buy a house in the historically old town.

12 – Southend-on-Sea

Clearly, according to these stats, living near the seaside isn’t something a factor that makes a house more expensive to buy. Having the world famous Southend Pier close by or regular events at the Cliffs Pavilion is on offer to anyone who earns an average of £16.27 (per hour), £610.13 (per week) or £31,726.50 (per annum). Do that and you’ll be able to live comfortably in a house of your own by the sea.

11 – Basildon

I think anyone that lives in Essex is aware that Basildon isn’t the home of the rich and famous, but that’s not to say it is exactly cheap to live there. The Web-Blinds suggests that, to buy a house in and around the Basildon area, it’ll mean you’ll have to earn on average £16.29 (per hour), £610.88 (per week) or £31,765.50 (per annum). You do get a nice Hollywood-style sign to greet you as you leave the A127 thrown into the package too.

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In and around the Grays and Thurrock areas, you have one of the biggest, best and most popular shopping centres in the south of the country in Lakeside Shopping Centre – as well as the Grays Civic Hall and the bragging rights that you live where the famous Russell Brand grew up. However, the stats suggest that, to buy a house in this area, the average wage would need to be around £17.35 (per hour), £650.63 (per week) or £33,832.50 (per annum).

9 – Witham

If someone asks you to mention Essex towns and cities that line the A12, Witham is likely to just be known as that place somewhere between Chelmsford and Colchester. Witham is only understood to have a population of around 25,000 due to it’s small area, meaning houses can be a bit more expensive and desired that bigger areas. The Web Blinds tool suggests an average earning of £19.55 (per hour), £733.13 (per week) or £38,122.50 (per annum) is required to buy a house in Witham.

8 – Harlow

Harlow is a busy, bustling town that is also known for having a fair amount of trouble and violence. It is probably that which keeps it lower in the rankings than the size of the area deserves. On average, to buy a house in Harlow, you’d need to earn £20.79 (per hour), £779.63 (per week) or £40,540.50 (per annum).

7 – Wickford

In property, it is all about location, location, location! We’ve already covered Basildon down in 11th place, but just down the road, Wickford is placed much higher in the list. Travel links in Wickford are ideal, with the A127 giving you easy access to Southend-on-Sea in one direction and the M25/East London/Romford in the other. To buy a house in Wickford, you’d need to earn an average of £21.19 (per hour), £794.63 (per week) or £41,320.50 (per annum).

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In Romford, you have so much on offer – from The Brewery Shopping Centre, Mercury Mall, cinemas, Romford Greyhound racing track, direct transport links to London and much more. It is surprising that, because it is located within the M25, Romford hasn’t made it into the top five expensive places to live. The tool suggests an average of £22.46 (per hour), £842.25 (per week) or £43,797 (per annum) to buy a house.

5 – Maldon

Maldon. Quite simply – you have so many beautiful places where you can go within walking distance, whether that’s a day out at the Promenade Park or heading down to the water at the nearby Heybridge Basin. To buy a house in this beautifully relaxing area of Essex, you’d have to earn £22.71 (per hour), £851.63 (per week) or £44,284.50 (per annum) on average.

4 – Chelmsford

When it comes to the most well-known areas of Essex, Chelmsford is always near the top of that list. Not only does it have fantastic shopping facilities, the home of Essex County Cricket Club, global scientific engineers Teledyne e2v and more, Chelmsford is often referred to as the central hub and ‘Admin HQ’ for the county. The tool suggests that you’d need to earn £24.39 (per hour), £914.63 (per week) or £47,560.50 (per annum) to buy a house in Chelmsford.

3 – Braintree

Making the top three – somewhat surprisingly for some people – is Braintree. However, Braintree has many impressive attributes to offer, including Freeport Shopping Centre, which is sometimes described as a designer outlet village. With things like that just round the corner, it’ll cost a fair price to live here. On average, someone should need to earn £24.92 (per hour), £934.50 (per week) or £48,594 (per annum) to buy a house.

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The spiritual home of the BAFTA award-winning ITV reality show ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ is in Brentwood – thanks to the Sugar Hut and various other boutiques and salons in the High Street. Any Brentwood resident will tell you that the town used to near the top of the rankings one of the most boring places in the country. Now though, it costs on average around £28.39 (per hour), £1,064.63 (per week) or £55,760.50 (per annum) to buy a house in Brentwood.

1 – Billericay

Topping the list of the most expensive places to live in Essex is the quiet and understated village of Billericay – unless you’re a football fan. Multi-millionaire steel businessman Glenn Tamplin took over the club in December 2016 and has spent millions renovating the club both on and off the pitch. You need a fair amount stored in the bank account to own a residential property in Billericay too, with an earning of £31.72 (per hour), £1,189.50 (per week) or £61,854 (per annum) required on average.